With basketball having come and gone, local schools are set to open up the 2022 baseball season this week. Here’s a breakdown of what’s ahead for each team respectively.
Daviess County
After falling in the first round of the 9th District Tournament last season, Daviess County is looking to bounce back for a strong season with more experience under its belt.
The Panthers are coming off a season in which they finished 14-15 overall, but will look to flip the switch this season with a number of key players returning.
Outfielder Decker Renfrow and catcher Cason Troutman will be crucial facets in their lineup, as Renfrow posted .457 batting average with an OPS of 1.077 and Troutman posted a .440 OBP to go along with 23 stolen bases and was only caught stealing twice all season. A crucial part of Daviess County’s rotation will be junior Jackson Loucks, who posted a 2.04 ERA last season in 34 innings pitched last year.
Along with Lake Wilson—who saw limited action as a sophomore last season and has improved defensively according to Head Coach Austin Clay—the Panthers have a strong returning group that should help them grab some wins this season.
“Owen Payne, Brock Brubabker, and Easton Williams are three seniors that will be big contributors,” Clay said. “Payne and Brubaker have signed to play in college (Lincoln Trail and Campbellsville). Easton Williams dealt with some injury issues last year, but has a live arm and will be a major contributor on the mound. Senior Mason Boswell provides steady leadership and is a great outfielder.”
Clay thinks that the players having more experience should help them improve this season, especially on the defensive side of the game.
“I would like to see our infield defense improve and I think it will,” Clay said. “We have a lot of the same guys coming back and I think that having another year of maturity under their belts will be huge.”
Clay said that as long as they make the routine plays on the infield, attack the strike zone on the mound, and have a solid two-strike approach at the plate, they can be an opponent to fear on any given night this season.
“I think we will be a good offensive team and I believe that we will play solid defense as well,” Clay said. “We have a lineup that can go toe-to-toe with anybody we play.”
Owensboro
Coming off a 6-21 season and under new leadership, Owensboro is looking to bounce back and set the groundwork for the future in 2022.
The Red Devils are returning the vast majority of their roster from the 2021 campaign, but tote a young roster with two juniors and one senior. Having arrived to the program after Logan Johnson’s departure following last season, Head Coach Jake Fiorella got straight to work with the team and is excited for the upcoming season despite not having seen this team in action.
“Being new, I never had an opportunity to see this group compete last season,” Fiorella said. “From the fall to now, we are looking to build upon the foundation laid in the offseason.”
Fiorella and his staff like what they see from the team so far, noting that they have a solid offense and need to put in the work on other facets of their to really succeed.
“I am excited about our players’ offensive to this point and we’ve spent a great deal of time working to improve our defense,” Fiorella said. “In high school baseball, pitching and defense are key, so we’re really lamenting the fact that we have to throw multiple pitches for strikes and play clean defensively.”
Despite having a relatively young roster, Owensboro feels as though they compete right away. They will look to key returners like Blake Kimbrell at the plate to help lead the way as they look for steady improvement that they hope leads to a postseason run.
“Our goal is to compete,” Fiorella said. “That sounds cliche but we’re trying to get our guys to compete every single pitch of every single game. The ‘big goal’ which has been the same at our other two coaching stops is to qualify for the Regional Tournament and compete for the championship.”
Fiorella says the keys to making a deep postseason run relies heavily on the mental side of the game, as that will help them excel physically and hopefully lead to W’s.
“Consistency and discipline–this applies to all parts of our game,” Fiorella said. “Pitching and defense need to be incredibly consistent. We need our guys to throw two pitches, consistently for strikes and we need our defense to dominate making routine plays. Offensively, we have to exhibit plate discipline and be savvy on the bases.”
Owensboro Catholic
Coming off of a dominant season that was cut short in the state tournament, Owensboro Catholic is looking to continue its winning ways under new leadership in 2022.
The Aces closed out the 2021 campaign owning a 32-6 record, grabbing the 9th District and 3rd Region Championships while going undefeated in both the district and region.
Head Coach Jody Hamilton comes to the program with nine seniors on his roster, with a barrage of key players returning for Owensboro Catholic.
The roster boasts all-state players in shortstop/pitcher Luke Scales, pitcher/outfielder Sam McFarland. They are joined by McFarland’s fellow KWC commit in catcher Braden Mundy, infielder/pitcher Luke Evans, as well as other key seniors like Everett Munsey, Hayden Ward and others.
Hamilton and company feel like they have a few players that are also ready to make big contributions in juniors Grant Parson and Jamison Wall utility, as well as freshman Brady Atwell.
Despite being under new leadership, the expectations for the Aces haven’t changed. They expect to compete deep in the postseason and make their way back to the state tournament.
In order for them to find that same success in 2022, Hamilton says that their pitching staff must be strong and their defense has to back them. As long as they continually improve in all phases of the game as the season progresses, Hamilton and company feel as though they will be in good shape.
Apollo
Having lost in the first round of the 3rd Region Tournament last season, Apollo is looking to find themselves amongst the best in the postseason once again in 2022.
The Eagles closed out 2021 with a 23-10 overall record and graduated five seniors following the season. However, Head Coach Mason Head and company have a number of crucial players returning including another strong senior class.
“We have four seniors this year: Nick Judd, Harrison Bowman, Dayton Brown, and Tyler Payne,” Head said. “Judd and Bowman were guys who were in the mix daily last year, Payne led our team in innings pitched last season and Brown stepped up for us in a few key moments last year.”
Along with this strong core of seniors, Head feels that junior Xavier Wells will take a major step forward as a leader for Apollo with a year of varsity experience behind the plate.
The Eagles also have a number of newcomers that they expect to be able to contribute this season, including Easton Blandford, Michael Chaney, Noah Cook, Cayden Crabtree, Sam Holder, Joshua Mayes, Charles Schneider, Lane Skinner and Will Strode.
“Some of these guys are brand new to Varsity and others played roles of various workloads for us last year,” Head said. “Regardless of experience, each of these guys has a job to do that he is going to have to take ownership of in order for us to be successful.”
Head expects his team to improve every day and show fight throughout the season, even in the early stages in which they look to gain valuable experience for each player in order for them to do the job when his number is called.
WIth a much different roster for the 2022 campaign, the Eagles have to figure out their identity and play as a team in order to find success.
“This year’s team doesn’t have the same weaknesses or strengths as last year’s team,” Fiorella said. “The most important thing for us is to trust each other and figure out what our style of baseball looks like based on this year’s personnel.”
As usual the 9th District and 3rd Region is filled with talent from top to bottom this season and Head and Apollo are ready to go to battle this spring.
Trinity (Whitesville)
Following a successful end to its 2021 campaign, Trinity (Whitesville) is looking to make some noise in the 12th District in 2022 with a much deeper roster.
Despite owning four wins going into the postseason, the Raiders found themselves in the 12th District Championship a year ago. They would fall to Edmonson County and to Meade County in the first round of the 3rd Region Tournament, but gained valuable experience for a roster that had two juniors and five eighth graders.
This year Head Coach Jeff Wimsatt said that they have doubled their roster and that Trinity is ready to get rolling. They will have a few key upperclassmen returning to the team in 2022, including juniors Landon Huff, Nathan Hernandez and Gavin Howard.
Huff, Hernadez and Howard all saw time on the mound last season, while Huff led the way with a 1.70 ERA as well as leading the team in hitting with a .325 batting average. This trio will be joined by a new arrival in senior Elijah Boarman, who Wimsatt described as a hard worker with a lot of athleticism.
Wimsatt and company are hoping to build upon the foundation they set last season, while continuing to learn how to compete for all seven innings. In order for them to improve upon last season’s record, Wimsatt said they have to do the little things that matter most at the end of the year.
“[We have to] control the running game and make the routine plays,” Wimsatt said. “[We also want to see] steady improvements in all facets of the game.”
